Ananda Shankar (11 December 1942 – 26 March 1999) was an Indian

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

player, singer, and composer whose music blended

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and Eastern musical styles. He was married to dancer and choreographer Tanusree Shankar.

Life

Born in Almora,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

(now in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

), North India, Shankar was the son of Amala Shankar and Uday Shankar, who were dancers of Bengali heritage, and also the nephew of sitar player Ravi Shankar. He studied in The Scindia School,

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

. Ananda did not learn sitar from his uncle but studied instead with Lalmani Misra at Banaras Hindu University. He died in Kolkata on 26 March 1999 aged 56 from cardiac failure.

Professional career

In the late 1960s, Shankar travelled to Los Angeles, where he played with many contemporary musicians including

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. There he was signed to

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

and released his first album, '' Ananda Shankar'', in 1970, with original Indian classical material alongside

-based cover versions of popular hits,

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' " Jumpin' Jack Flash" and

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' " Light My Fire". The album is included in the book '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''. Returning to India in the early 1970s, Shankar continued to experiment musically and in 1975 released his most critically acclaimed album, '' Ananda Shankar and His Music'', a

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...

mix of Eastern

, Western rock guitar, tabla and

mridangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...

, drums and

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s. Out of print for many years, the album was re-released on CD in 2005. After working in India during the late 1970s and 1980s, Shankar's profile in the West began to rise again in the mid-1990s as his music found its way into club DJ sets, particularly in London. His music was brought to a wider audience with the release of

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

' 1996 rare groove compilation album, ''Blue Juice Vol. 1.'', including two tracks from ''Ananda Shankar and His Music'', "Dancing Drums" and "Streets of Calcutta". In the late 1990s, Shankar worked and toured in the United Kingdom with the London DJ State of Bengal and others, a collaboration that resulted in the '' Walking On'' album, featuring Shankar's trademark sitar soundscapes mixed with breakbeat and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. ''Walking On'' was released in 2000 after Shankar's death the previous year.

Discography

* '' Ananda Shankar'', 1970 (LP, Reprise 6398; CD, Collectors' Choice CCM-545) * ''Ananda Shankar and His Music'', 1975 (EMI India) * ''India Remembers Elvis'', 1977 (EP, EMI India S/7EPE. 3201) * ''Missing You'', 1977 (EMI India) * ''A Musical Discovery of India'', 1978 (EMI India) * ''Sa-Re-Ga Machan'', 1981 (EMI India) * ''2001'', 1984 (EMI India) * ''Temptations'', 1992 (Gramaphone Company of India) * ''Ananda Shankar: Shubh – The Auspicious'', 1995 * ''Ananda'', 1999 (EMI India) * ''Arpan'', 2000 (EMI India) * '' Walking On'', 2000 (Real World 48118-2, with State of Bengal) * ''Ananda Shankar: A Life in Music – The Best of the EMI Years'', 2005 (Times Square TSQ-CD-9052) * Tamil film music from the film '' Yaaro Ezhuthiya Kavithai'' (1986)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar, Ananda 1942 births 1999 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists People from Almora Real World Records artists Scindia School alumni Musicians from Varanasi Best Music Direction National Film Award winners Indian film score composers Indian world music musicians Bengali musicians 20th-century Indian composers Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male musicians Banaras Hindu University alumni Musicians from Kolkata